Treadmill workouts are a great way to increase cardiovascular health while getting your legs and butt trim. But an injury will put you out of commission. Follow Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding’s advice on treadmill use and safety to make sure you can keep getting your workouts in.

Treadmill Use Tips

Using a treadmill is simple but there are things you should know. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding shares her top tips for treadmill utilization.

• Have a plan. Treadmills can be incredibly boring. Having a set workout, like the one shared in this post, will keep you interested and motivated to finish. See the end of this article for Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding’s tried and true secret to staying engaged during a treadmill workout.
• Form counts. You should monitor your posture and form while doing treadmill workouts. Stand up straight, stay loose in the arms but keep your core engaged throughout. Never lock your knees. When walking slowly and especially at an incline, take longer strides and squeeze your glutes before releasing — this will help with toning.
• Let go! While Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding doesn’t recommend running like Phoebe, she does want you to let go. Of the rails. Holding onto the rails when working out causes a few problems. First, people burn about 20% fewer calories when holding on. Second, holding on because the treadmill is going faster than they can handle puts pressure on the spine and pelvis and can cause strain or injury.

• Don’t talk on the phone or text while working out. Workouts should leave you slightly breathless. Talking or texting will slow you down and stop you from thinking about your form. Disconnect and enjoy music, an audiobook or a podcast instead.

Treadmill Safety Tips

Whether you’re new to treadmill workouts or have been doing them for a while, here is what you need to know.

• Use The Safety Stop Clip. Sure, you might never need it but in the event of a fall, having the belt stop will save you some serious injuries. Believe it or not, one of the more common treadmill injuries is a burn. Burns occur when you fall and the belt is still running.
• Tie Your Laces. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding cannot stress this enough. Just because you’re walking or running indoors it doesn’t mean you can be lazy about your laces. Tripping on a lace can lead to falls.
• Wear Appropriate Shoes. Many people, especially when walking on treadmills, are tempted to wear flip flops, go barefoot, or wear more casual sneakers. You should wear gym shoes on the treadmill in order to have the appropriate grip and support.
• Watch leggings and sweats. If you are wearing long pants make sure they are not too long. Pants that are too long can get caught causing slips and falls.

The Secret To The Best Treadmill Workout Ever

You can get healthy, lose weight, and tone up on a treadmill. The key is working your heart and muscles regularly. The secret to this is doing challenging workouts while staying motivated to get in your cardio every day. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding knows that this can be daunting so here is the best method for rocking your treadmill at home or at the gym and looking forward to it.

• Look at your treadmill workout. Note the length of time of each block.
• Look at your music library. Most digital music libraries sort by track length. Look through for some favorites, both old and new.
• Create a treadmill workout playlist. By having each song match the length of a block you’ll know when it is time to change speed and incline.

You can make multiple playlists or stick to one. As your workouts change, make new playlists to stay engaged. You’d be amazed how easy a treadmill workout feels when you have the right music.

To learn more about exercising on a treadmill check out these other posts from Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding:

• Let’s Talk Treadmill Workouts